April, 1911 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
abies 
A Novel Ram-Water Collector 
By A. Gradenwitz 
W348, WING to the increasing adoption of water 
= works, the rain-water collectors, which 
were once so much in favor, have been 
somewhat neglected. Still, such devices 
could do far better service than might be 
supposed at first sight. Especially in the 
open country, and even in small townships 
where water works do not pay, they would enable anybody 
to secure his own drinking and washing water for consump- 
tion. It 1s a well-known fact that rain-water is of absolute 
purity and far softer than any other water. On account of 
not being in contact with the ground it is practically free 
from microbes and accordingly most recommendable from 
a hygienic point of view. If in spite of these obvious ad- 
vantages, its use now is generally discarded, it is mainly 
due to the impurities which attach to the collector, and thus 
indirectly introduced into water of so excellent a quality. 
In fact, on dripping from the roof, the water is bound to 
become mixed with dust and 
all kinds of animal and 
vegetable waste matter, so 
that the liquid at first col- 
lected not only is unsuitable 
for use, but infects the after 
rainfall. 
A French inventor, Mr. 
G. H. Munier, at Ciboure, 
has designed a rain-water 
collector, which supplies an 
excellent drinking and wash- 
ing water without any de- 
cantation, filtering or chem- 
ical cleaning. 
The apparatus, as shown 
in the diagram, comprises 
two vessels, viz., the drink- 
ing water vessel A and the 
impure-water vessel B, above which is arranged a trough 
C tilting round the pivot T. At the end D of the trough 
the rod of a float F is fixed, dipping into‘the vessel B. 
As the rain-water coming from the eaves H flows down 
the trough C, it at first enters the vessel B, which is still 
empty, so that the float rests on its bottom. As this vessel 
Position of the pipes before the rain 
then is gradually filled, the float, and along with it the 
trough C, will rise continually, until the trough is tilted 
round the central pivot so as to point towards the drinking 
water vessel A. All the subsequent precipitation then flows 
into this vessel, and as the roof has been washed clean in 
the meantime, it can be used immediately for drinking or 
for washing ‘purposes. 
As the water dropping from the roof could carry along 
foreign objects, the mouth of the trough C is closed by a 
piece of metal gauze. Moreover, before entering the 
clean water vessel, the water has to pass through some 
kind of funnel consisting of a box filled with gravel, and 
finally the whole tilting trough is covered with metal gauze. 
The apparatus should obviously be adjusted in accor- 
dance with the amount to be collected in the dirty or waste 
water vessel. The actual condition of the roof, and the 
kind and degree of its impurities should therefore be ac- 
counted for in each case. According to experiments 
| made by the inventor a min- 
imum of 4 liters (1.05 gal- 
lons) per square meter 
(10.76 square feet) is re- 
quired under the most favor- 
able, and 6-10 liters (1.6-2.6 
gallons) under the most un- 
satisfactory circumstances. 
In order to account for any 
interruption in the rain-fall, 
which is liable to give rise to 
a renewed deposit of dirt, a 
cock discharging the water in 
drops is arranged at the bot- 
tom of the unclean water ves- 
sel, the rate of flow being so 
calculated that only the 
amount corresponding to the 
possible impurities flows out 
each day. A modified apparatus represented herewith 
comprises a funnel catching the water as it drops from the 
roof and directing it towards a dirty-water vessel with the 
float. As soon as enough water has flown out to wash off 
any impurities, the float will direct the lower opening of 
the funnel towards the clean-water vessel. 
p00 000. 
0.0 0004 
Position of the pipes during the rain 
